TAKEOFF
ANGLER PROFILE
READY FOR HIS TURN
shane leheW’s fishinG potential Matches his aMBition
a
ll things considered, shane lehew
is in a good spot.
though he’s only fished the flW
tour for four years, the 29-year-old has
passed a few important career mile-
stones. since he joined the tour as a
pro, he’s qualified for the forrest Wood
cup three times and finished 16th and
19th, respectively, in the last two.
during 2017’s seven-tournament cam-
paign, the north carolina pro cashed
five checks, with his best finish being
fourth at harris chain in March. not
bad, and yet …
despite a record that most pros
would envy, lehew still isn’t completely
content with his performances. lack of
consistency is the bane of all tourna-
ment fishermen, but more so young
anglers such as lehew. he’s suffered
through his share of events when he’s
up one day and down the next.
at the harris chain, for instance, he
had 23 pounds, 15 ounces the first day
and 14-14 the next in what appeared
to be shaping up as a championship
duel between lehew and John cox.
then lehew stumbled with stringers of
13-15 and 13-5 in the next two rounds.
Bradley dortch and Jt Kenney rallied
past him and cox to nail down first and
second, respectively.
By Colin Moore
a Good start
photos by seAN busher
on the whole, the curve of lehew’s
career has trended upward. he was a
child prodigy who showed promise at an
early age. after an apprenticeship of
sorts fishing with his father, troy, and
grandfather, larry, he started compet-
ing in tournaments on his own. in 2007,
when he was 18, he won the Bass
federation’s Junior World championship
on lake hamilton in arkansas.
“this is a dream come true … i can’t
wait for what the future holds,” he said
then after being proclaimed the win-
ner. the future held more of the same
for lehew.
Shane LeHew still fishes regularly with his original tournament teammates, his grandfather, Larry (center), and father, Troy.
january 2018 I fLWfIshInG.com
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